


Push

by peppermintpotts



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Experiment!Steve, Gen, Human Experimentation, Manipulative Relationship, Mind Manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29623581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermintpotts/pseuds/peppermintpotts
Summary: In seventeen years, Steve wouldn’t describe his father as the warmest but he is distinct from the cold, detached man that looms over him now.
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2176560
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	Push

**_Febuwhump – Day 1 – Mind Control_ **

“Sit down, Steven.” The man that gives the order is different from the man he thought he knew. Different from the father he thought he knew.

In seventeen years, Steve wouldn’t describe his father as the warmest but he is distinct from the cold, detached man that looms over him now. He never doubted his parents love for him but this man, he can’t be sure if this man cares if he lives past the next few minutes.

 _Sit._ The order presses against the flight response currently punctuating itself through ever part of him. His mind screams at him to _run_ but also to _obey_.

“No.” The word, soft from his own lips, stops his body in its downward motion. His father, and the white-haired man beside him look surprised but undeterred.

“Sit down.” His legs move without him, toward one of the only chairs still left upright in the dining room.

“No!” He pushes back against that voice in his head. Not the one that scolded him when he failed or begrudgingly complimented him if he succeeded. No, this voice is foreign to him and he feels the compulsion to do what it says. Steve has never been afraid of his father until this moment.

“SIT.” The command comes again and his mind obeys. His legs bend at the knees, his back presses against the ornate carved wood of the antique heirloom chair. It hurts to resist the influence of his father’s command. It hurts but something in him, something deep down pushes back. His father blinks, his body shuddering with the force of whatever Steve is doing.

_Let me go_

_That’s not possible_

_Please…_

His father shakes his head and the command comes again, but he falters a little. A shaking hand rises to his face, returns red from the blood dripping slowly from his nose. Steve feels something warm and wet drip over his lip. The white-haired man looks pleased, it makes Steve uncomfortable.

The white-haired man steps forward, setting a chair upright and taking a seat as if nothing about this situation is odd.

“You didn’t mention he could push back.”

His father straightens, clearly unsettled by this development and bristling at the tone of the statement. “I was not aware he had progressed so far so quickly.”

“The secrets children keep.” He says wistfully cupping Steve’s face gently. “We’re going to see if you are as special as your mother.”


End file.
